Friday, February 12, 2016

Wednesday Ride (Big Eye Mine and McPhirson Pass)

Big Eye Mine Ride.

The group met at the 76 station at 8:30. We met early because we had to drive about 50 miles south of town to get to the turnoff.

Something is Spattering on Our Windshield.

We were the last of nine Jeeps and behind Bill. In front of Bill was Don in his Jeep Cherokee.
A few miles down the highway we started noticing something spattering our windshield. It looked like there was a cloud behind Don's Jeep and the spots looked like oil.
Bill called on the walkie-talkie for a halt to check out Don's Jeep so we pulled off the highway in a wide spot.
We popped the hood on Don's Jeep and found that he hadn't gotten the radiator cap on tight enough and it had come off the radiator while he was driving down the road. Fortunately the cap was still there laying on the fan shroud. Several water bottles were used up to refill the radiator.

It wasn't quite enough water to completely fill the radiator so when we got to the Stone Cabin; about 30 miles south of Q, we stopped to see if there was any water available there. They were closed and there was no one around to ask about water.

We decided that there probably was enough water in the radiator as the Jeep was not over heating.

Castle Dome Road.

We continued our ride south on 95.

Eventually we got to the turn off for Castle Dome Road. We pulled off to the side of the road to air down.

After airing down we continued along Castle Dome Road. You can see Castle Dome in the picture below. This feature can be seen from as far away as Yuma.

The Eye in the Sky.

As we drove along we passed the "Eye in the Sky" at its mooring. Apparently it was being worked on so it was tied down. You can see a boom near the rear of the blimp. This blimp is supposedly used to spy on the Mexican border.

Big Eye.

Eventually we got to the turnoff for the Big Eye Mine and turned south on the trail. The trail goes through some really beautiful mountains.

On the right side of this mountain you can see the feature called the Big Eye. Which is where the Big Eye Mine gets its name.

Below is a closer view of the eye.

As you drive around the mountain and get closer to the eye it no longer looks like an eye at all.

We followed the trail in a wash around the mountains and eventually came to the end.

Here we stopped for lunch. Some of the group walked the mile long foot trail to the mine.
After lunch we headed back along the trail toward Castle Dome Road.

Hole Through the Mountain.

We stopped at a place where there is a mine tunnel that goes clear through a hill and comes out the other side.

Here is what it looks like on the inside.

We left the tunnel and continued toward Castle Dome Road. When we got there we turned right and drove to the Castle Dome Museum. A couple of the folks that were with us wanted to check the museum out. Most of us had been there several times so we waited outside.

McPherson Pass.

After leaving the museum we headed out the trail through McPherson Pass.

The McPherson Pass trail is very scenic. Here are a couple of pictures from the trail.

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Welcome to my blog.

My name is Marty.

My wife Patti and I are dirt road junkies. We live in Quartzsite Arizona in our motor home in the winter and love traveling around the desert in our jeep. We also have a couple of kayaks and enjoy flat water paddling.
Much of the Photography on this blog is Patti's.

In the summer we divide out time between traveling around the west and spending time at the cabin I built in the Northern California forest or working on projects at our home in Santa Rosa.

I occasionaly take a stab at writing fiction. You can read my latest effort "The Virgin Prince" by clicking on the links below.